Elia Powers

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: WASHINGTON -- From his office overlooking Washington's main business district, David Makovsky offers his pragmatic take on the question that everyone from White House aides to PBS's Jim Lehrer ask of him: What's the prospect of sustained peace between the Israelis and Palestinians?

The one-two punch of audiences spilling out of The Fox Theatre at night and Saint Louis University students spilling out of their dorm rooms at all hours was enough to motivate Jeanne and Peter Spoto to open a second location of their popular diner earlier this summer.

City Diner at the Fox (541 North Grand Blvd.) is on the same street as the original City Diner (3139 South Grand Blvd.). The new eatery, which is about one-third as large as the flagship, is at the busy intersection of Grand and Washington Avenue in the shadow of the Fox.

Missouri's budget shortfall has been felt everywhere from schools to state agencies to social service programs. Arts groups across St. Louis haven't been spared, either. Many are adjusting to the new reality of decreasing financial support from the state at a time when resources remain tight.

There’s something to be said for a traditional work routine of commuting downtown, entering a high-rise office building and chatting with coworkers before settling in for the day. That’s a new possibility for the people who will occupy a 10,000-square-foot room inside the Shell Building beginning Aug. 2.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 14, 2008 - It's a busy time for Walter Bargen, who is traveling the state as Missouri's first-ever poet laureate. Through readings and workshops, he's had a forum to discuss his beloved craft and help others improve their writing. But when it comes to creating his own poetry...

"Isn't that the irony?" Bargen said. "I hardly have any time for writing, and that's a frustrating element for me."

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 10, 2008 - Plenty of politicians and urban planners have had their say about how to better connect the St. Louis riverfront, Arch grounds and downtown St. Louis. It's been a long-running and quite controversial dialogue -- one continued by a panel of design experts and other stakeholders Friday at Washington University (more on that later).

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 10, 2008 - He passes, tackles, pitches, bats, fields, hits, shoots and defends. Cody King is an increasingly rare breed among high school athletes -- a three-sport standout.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 6, 2008 - It's natural to wake up the day after a presidential election - in particular this much-hyped contest - and feel exhausted. All that waiting in line to vote, tracking exit polls and staying up late to see the results are enough to make even the most energetic people sleepy at work on Wednesday.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: November 4, 2008 - Like many polling places across St. Louis, Wydown Middle School was slammed with voters just after dawn.

Joe Pollack, a St. Louis County Board of Elections assistant supervisor stationed at the school, said the wait time was about 90 minutes at 6:30 a.m. and roughly an hour for those who arrived at 7 a.m.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 30, 2008 - Welcome to the final few days before Election Day -- the World Series for grassroots political organizers. Or, perhaps a better sports analogy: the sprint at the tail end of a grueling campaign marathon.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 24, 2008 - On the day earlier this month when President Bush signed into law the historic financial bailout bill, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill made a pit stop in St. Peters to promote Sen. Barack Obama's economic platform.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 10, 2008 - Missouri is an attractive destination for presidential candidates and their surrogates for an obvious reason: Polls show the swing state is more up for grabs now than at any other time in the campaign.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 8, 2008 - Throughout the summer and early fall, as polling groups released new data and news organizations updated their presidential election maps, political junkies played a guessing game: What color would Missouri be?

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 24, 2008 - Give leaders in the public health field any reason to gather and you’re bound to hear chatter about disparities in funding and shortages of nurses. Put them on a panel in front of a large crowd at a television studio six weeks before a presidential election and prepare to hear a full-blown discussion about what’s ailing the country’s health care system.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 22, 2008 - If this presidential election follows the usual script, young voter turnout will be modest at best. There will be a flurry of students registering in the next few weeks but problems with getting them to the polls in November.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 22, 2008 - On a recent conference call with Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, student leader Lucinda Housley remembers a conversation about ways to reach young voters.

In past elections, that might mean strategy sessions on how to make the most out of campus visits, phone calls and more recently mass e-mails. But in the span of one election cycle the communication landscape has changed. Social networking is now a cultural force, and political campaigns are taking note.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 12, 2008- Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is slated to earn $133,820 this fiscal year (up from $120,087 in 2007); Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich made $155,600 last year.

States provide a comfortable residence in the state capital, the city where the primary business of governing presumably takes place. Citizens pay for the governors' travel costs for official state business. But should citizens also foot the bill for expenses that can fairly be characterized as relating to a lifestyle choice, such as working from a privately owned residence in the executive's hometown, instead of the official office in the capitol?

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 11, 2008 - Sales of name-brand scooters -- motorcycles that typically have small engines and a step-through design -- have increased for years as gas prices crept higher and higher. And more options are available for potential buyers with Vespa returning to scooter production and new manufacturers entering the market. Roughly 157,000 scooters sold nationwide in 2007, compared to 12,000 in 1998, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade association.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: September 2, 2008- As another season gets underway for college and high school athletes across St. Louis, coaches have dreamed up - and in some cases already delivered - opening remarks to their teams.

The playbook: Start with some inspiration, then hit 'em with the serious stuff. Don't drink. Don't do drugs. Don't skip class. Increasingly, there's another element to the speech. Don't show yourself doing any of these things on Facebook or MySpace.

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 22, 2008 - About 20 years after he remodeled his childhood home in Brentwood, architect J. Robert Green still enthusiastically shows off the property he inherited. He enjoys having visitors pull up to his modest, one-story brick bungalow and seeing their expectations of a quaint interior shattered after stepping inside.